Internal-combustion engine



June 1946. I c. B. DAVIS ETAL 2,401,466

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE 7 File May 23, 1945 2 Sheets Sheet l JPWWA/ June 4, 1946.

A c. B. DAVIS ET AL 2,401,466

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed May 23, '1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Cecil B Dcwis and Patented June '4, 1946 orrica 2,401,466 rN'raaNAL-ommUsTroN ENGINE Cecil B. Davis and Wilbur M. Arthur, Klngman, Ariz.

Application May 23, 1945, Serial No. 595,314

Claims. l

The invention relates to internal combustion engines, and has for one of its objects to provide an improved apparatus of this character having opposed cylinders with oppositely acting reciprocating pistons in each thereof, and relatively simple mechanism for translating the reciprocating motion of the pistons into rotary motion, with minimum bearing loads.

A further object of the invention is to provide an engine having relatively few moving parts and in which the heavy crankshaft, connecting rods and bearings of conventional engines are eliminatedwith consequent reduction in weight and cost of manufacture, and increased efliciency.

While the principles of the invention are equally applicable to engines employing either th lighter hydrocarbons as fuel and spark ignition thereof, or those using the heavier oils and operating on the Diesel principle, for purposes of disclosure an engine of the first type is illustrated in the accompanyng drawings forming a part of this specification. In these drawings certain minor elements, such for example as the fuel supply and exhaust conduits, shrouds for directing. cooling air around the cylinders, etc., have been omitted, since they may take a variety of more or less conventional forms and are not essential to an understanding of the principles of the invention.

In the said drawings:

Figure l is a side elevational view, partly broken away and in section, of a typical engine constructed and arranged in accordance with the I invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view on ap-. proximately the plane indicated by the line 22 of Fig. 1, looking down; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are cross sectional views, taken respectively on approximately the planes indicated by the lines 3-3 and 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the engine may be provided with suitable frame members ill which fixedly mount a tubular member ll providing a pair of axially alined working chambers 52 and i3. These may be provided with conventional water jackets for water cooling, but are here shown as having a plurality of cooling fins it for dissipating heat to the sur-.

roundin atmosphere, as will be readily understood by those skiled in the art. Journalled upon the medial portion of the tubular. member it, as by antifriction hearings to, is a pair of complementary longitudinally spaced cam elements to, providing between them a, sinusoidal cam groove able means whereby th power may be transmitted from the engine. The rotor 18 may also carry fans or blowers I9 which, in conjunction with appropriate shrouds (not shown) direct cooling air to and around the working cylinders l2 and i3.

A hollow piston rod 20 is disposed within the cylinder member ll co-axially therewith, and its respective end portions rigidly-carry the outer pair of pistons 2| and 22. The outer faces of these pistons are recessed as at 23 and 24, and the extreme ends of th rod 20 carry heads 25 and 26 disposed within the respective recesses 23 and 23, and having ports 21 and 28 afiording communication between such recesses and the interior of the piston rod, all as will be clear from Fig. 2. The heads 25 and 26 carry flexible or resilient valve disks 29 and 30 for controling communication between the recesses 23 and 24 and the respective working cylinders i2 and I3, as will appear more fully below.

The medial portion of the piston rod 20 rigidly carries a pair of oppositely extending studs 3| which project throughslots 32 formed in the wall of the cylinder member ll, and into the cam groove ll where they are preferably provided with anti-friction rolls 33. The studs may also carry similar rolls 34, working in the slots 32.

Surrounding the piston rod 28 and slidable relative thereto, is a sleeve 35 having longitudinal slots 36 to accommodate the studs 3|, and rigidly carrying pistons 31 and 38 at its respective ends. This'sleeve 35 also rigidly carries oppositely projecting studs 39, disposed at substantially right angles -to the studs 3| (see particularly Fig. 4) and extending through slots 40 in the wall of cylinder member it}, into th cam groove ii. The end portions of these studs may be provided with anti-friction rollers it and 42 working in the said cam groove and in the slots =33 respectively. Since the cylinder member H of courseis fixed, the slots 32 and i0 serve as guides for the rollers 36 and 42 and the studs 3| and 39 carrying them, which prevents rotation of the studs and pistons about the cylinder axis. 7

At the inner ends of the respective working chambers l2 and 13 the wall of the cylinder member l i is provided with the series of circumferentially arranged exhaust ports and 44, while at the outer ends of said chambers such wall'is provided with the series of inlet ports 45 and 46.

-'I'he open outer ends of the respective working chambers are closed by removable caps or cylinder heads 41 and 48 which, as will be clear from Figs. 2 and 3, are spaced somewhat from the cylinder wall to provide the annular passages 49 and 5D communicating with the respective inlet ports 45 and 48. The exhaust ports 43 and 44 may be surrounded by a suitable exhaust conduit (not shown) for conducting the exhaust gases away. The'wall of the hollow piston rod 20 is provided with a plurality of ports 5|, alined with the slots 36 of sleeve 35 and affording communication between the bore of the said rod and the space 52 within the cylinder member ll between the inner pair of pistons 31 and 38. Sinc the engine illustrated is assumed to be of the sparkignition type using carburetted fuel, a conventional spark plug 53 is shown for each of the working cylinders, and the fuel mixture may be supplied to the space 52 by conduits 54 leading from an appropriate carbureter. It will be understood however, that in the case of an engine intended to operate upon-the Diesel principle, the spark plugs 53 will be replaced by suitable fuel injectors, and fresh air will be supplied'to the space 52 through the conduits 64.

The operation of the engine is as follows:

Assuming the parts to be in the positions illustrated in the drawings, to start the engine the rotor 18 is turned in either direction by external power supplied either manually or by any suitable mechanical starter mechanism, which movement is transmitted by the cam I! through the studs 3| and 39 to the piston rod 20 and the sleeve 35 respectively, causing the pistons 2| and 31 to lecede from one another and the pistons 22 and 38 to approach one another. As the piston 22 is thus moved toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, upon its coverin ports 48 it will create a partial vacuum in the spacebetween such piston and the cap 48 which will cause the valve 30 to open and fuel mixture to be sucked into such space from the medial space 52 by way of the ports H, the bore of the piston rod 20, and the ports 28. When the rotor 18 has completeda 90 movement the motions of the several pistons will be reversed by the cam action, and as the Piston 22 now moves toward the right its valve 30 will be closed and the fuel mixture ahead of it compressed until the piston uncovers ports 46 whereupon the mixture will escape therethrough into the working chamber l3, between the pistons 22 and 38. Although at this time the exhaust ports 44 have been uncovered by the piston 38, the admission of fuel mixture through ports 48 occurs very close to the ends of the strokes of the pistons 38, and thus the engine will now be operating,

with each cylinder firing twice for each revolution of the rotor. As the inner pistons 31 and 38 alternately uncover their respective exhaust ports 43 and 44 (which preferably occurs slightly in advance of the opening of the respective inlet ports 45 and 46 by the outer pistons 2|. and 22) the burnt gases will escape through such exhaust ports, with the incoming charge from inlet ports 45 and 48 performing a scavenging action, as in the well known two-cycle principle.

Should the engine be employed for aviation purposes, a propeller may be mounted directly upon the rotor i8. The engine will run equally well in either direction, this depending olely upon the direction in which it is started.

What is claimed is:

1. In an internal combustion engine, a pair of spaced co-axial working chambers; an outer pair of pistons, one in each chamber, having a piston rod rigidly connecting them together for unitary reciprocation; an inner pair of pistons, one in each chamber, rigidly connected by a sleeve surrounding said piston' rod, and reciprocatable relative to the first pair of pistons, the two pistons in each chamber providing a combustion space between'them: a rotor element, including a sinuous cam, journalled for rotation about the axis of and between said working chambers; and driving connections between said cam and said piston rod and sleeve respectively whereby reciprocations of the pairs of pistons will cause rotation of said element, the respective driving connections being disposed at substantially" right angles to one another.

2. In an internal combustion engine, a pair of spaced co-axial vworking chambers; an outer pair of pistons, one in each chamber, having a piston rod rigidly connecting them together for unitary reciprocation; an inner pair of pistons, one in each chamber, rigidly connected by a sleeve surrounding said piston rod, and reciprocatable relative to the first pair of pistons in directions opposite thereto; arotor element, including a sinuous cam, journalled on the working chambers for rotation about their axis; and driving members carried by said sleeve and piston rod respectively, at substantially right angles to one another, and engaging said cam whereby reciprocating movements of the pairs of pistons may be translated into rotary motion of the rotor element.

and as their motions are reversed almost immediately whereby they again out off the ports 44 and 46, little if any of the mixturewill escape through the exhaust ports. On the contrary, it will be trapped between the now approachin pistons and compressed by them, while at the same time the valve 30 will again open and admit a fresh charge to the space between it and cap 48. When the pistons 22 and 38 reach a position corresponding to the illustrated position of pistons 2i and 31, a spark from the plug 53 will ignite the compressed fuel mixture and the resulting explosion and expansion of gases will force the pistons 22 and I8 apart, which motions of course will be transmitted through the piston rod 20 and sleeve 35, studs 3| and I9, and cam 11 to the rotor l8.

In the meantime the pistons 2i and 31 have been going through the same cycle, a quarter revolution of the rotor behind the pistons 22 and 3. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder' member providing a pair of spaced co-axialworkring chambers, the portion oi said cylinder member intermediate said chambers having a plurality of longitudinal slots; an outer pair or pistons, one in each of said working chambers, having a piston rod connecting them for unitary reciprocation; an inner pairof pistons, one in each chamber, rigidly connected by a sleeve surrounding said piston rod, and reciprocatable relative to the first pair of pistons in directions opposite thereto; a rotor element having a sinuous cam groove, journalled on the intermediate portion of the cylinder member for rotation about its axis; and driving members carried by said sleeve and piston rod respectively, at substantially right angles to one another, said driving members extendcomprising a sinuouscamJournalled for rotation about the axis of. and between said workin chambers; driving connections between said cam and the respective pairs of pistons, whereby reciprocating movements of the latter will be translated into rotary motion of the rotor element:

and means for supplying combustible mixture to said hollow piston rod.

5.'In an internal combustion engine, a pair of v spaced co-axial working chambers; anrouter pair s oi pistons, one in each chamber; a hollow'piston rod rigidly connecting said pistons for unitary reciprocation, and providing a fuel conduit communicating with the respective chambers cut wardly oi said pistons; an inner pair of pistons. one in each chamber, rigidly connected by a sleeve surrounding said piston rod and reciprocatable relative to the first pair 01'? pistonsin directions opposite thereto; a rotor element com-- prising a sinuous cam, journalled, for rotation about the axis of said working chambers; driving connections between said cam and the respective pairs of pistons, angularly disposed relative to one another, whereby reciprocating movements of the pistons will be translated into rotary motion of the rotor element; and means for supplying combustible mixture to said hollow piston rod.

CECE. B. DAVIS; 

